Transmission valve body

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scott schmerge

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Has anyone had issue with their transmission valve body? My independent shop swears that the torque converters rarely fail on these trucks and that it’s usually the valve body. Transmission shop has a different position and says torque converter failure is the likely culprit.

Symptoms of truck:

Difficulty locking up the torque converter in 3rd gear resulting in shudder

Rpm fluctuations at highway speed with shudder on climbs.

Heavy throttle and downshift makes shudder disappear

Heavy throttle and no shudder shifting through gears.

Done to date:

Bridge seal and sleeves
New solenoids
New fluid, filter, pan
Dr trannys Instant shudder fix (by far the biggest miracle worker)

My dilemma...and only really asking if you’ve had experience or are a LR tech.

1. Used trans with 30k miles on it and torque converter at the tune of $3500 installed?

2. DIY replace of valve body with remanufactured valve body for under $1000?

3. Source a new or used torque converter for God knows how much and have installed?

I absolutely love this truck and don’t want to sell it. I’ve put a ton into it and really happy with where it is mechanically. There’s 122k on the clock.

Any input from those who have had this issue with their D3 or D4 (same trans) would be much appreciated.
 

Pfunk951

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All of those prices are attractive.. How long after your bridge seal and solenoid job did this happen.? Or was it there before hand? The LR3 forums had some talk about surging of the tach at speed.. I'm not sure if they ever nailed down the culprit, but I do remember the torque converter being mentioned..

Nonetheless, I would find it hard to blame the torque converter if it is only happening in one gear- if lockup under torque was the issue it should be bad in 3rd gear, terrible in 4th, and no lockup in 5th (as torque requirements increase).

I wish I knew more about the mechatronics in these..

Worst case, that transmission with 30k is worth eyeballing.. My dealer would charge that much in labor..!

Mike
 
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scott schmerge

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All of those prices are attractive.. How long after your bridge seal and solenoid job did this happen.? Or was it there before hand? The LR3 forums had some talk about surging of the tach at speed I'm not sure if they ever nailed down the culprit, but I do remember the torque converter being mentioned..

Nonetheless, I would find it hard to blame the torque converter if it is only happening in one gear- if lockup under torque was the issue it should be bad in 3rd gear, terrible in 4th, and no lockup in 5th (as torque requirements increase).

I wish I new more about the mechatronics in these..

Worst case, that transmission with 30k is worth eyeballing.. My dealer would charge that much in labor..!

Mike

Thanks mike for the response! I bought the truck with the issue and was hopeful a good service might fix it.

Sorry, I was a bit unclear about gears this is happening in.

It happens in 3rd (heavier shudder here) under load. 4th and 5 happens too uphill under load

Dr trannys has made it almost completely disappear. When I’ve drained and refilled fluid and put in dr trannys, it’s all clear for about 400 miles.

Battling this has been really perplexing. I can figure out most things, but this one has me stumped. I too have seen the LR3 forums address this but I can’t find anyone who has found a solution. Don’t want to spend $3k unnecessarily but would gladly do so if nothing else will cure it.
 

ryanjl

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Have you searched on any BMW forums, or any other make that uses the same (or similar) transmission?
 

Pfunk951

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3rd gear, like 40-60 mph while accelerating? Shuddering in this area is usually one of 3 issues:

1.Dirty/contaminated fluid (ruled out- you changed it)
2.Slipping torque Converter clutch (Suspect)
3.Lack of proper fluid pressure from the EPC solenoid(s) (Suspect)

We can't do anything about #2, so let's think about #3. A myriad of issues can cause this pressure to be wrong:

-bad signal from the controller(could be related to the program, a pinched wire, leaking mechatronic sleeve, etc.)
-bad solenoid(you replaced it)
-something leaking IN the transmission that is lowering the delivery pressure (bad seal, gasket)

Did you notice any damaged wiring while you were in there?

This is roughly 107% of my knowledge of transmissions.. To RyanJL's point, check and see if there are others with this- many other makes use this tranny.

Fingers crossed..

Mike
 

scott schmerge

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3rd gear, like 40-60 mph while accelerating? Shuddering in this area is usually one of 3 issues:

1.Dirty/contaminated fluid (ruled out- you changed it)
2.Slipping torque Converter clutch (Suspect)
3.Lack of proper fluid pressure from the EPC solenoid(s) (Suspect)

We can't do anything about #2, so let's think about #3. A myriad of issues can cause this pressure to be wrong:

-bad signal from the controller(could be related to the program, a pinched wire, leaking mechatronic sleeve, etc.)
-bad solenoid(you replaced it)
-something leaking IN the transmission that is lowering the delivery pressure (bad seal, gasket)

Did you notice any damaged wiring while you were in there?

This is roughly 107% of my knowledge of transmissions.. To RyanJL's point, check and see if there are others with this- many other makes use this tranny.

Fingers crossed..

Mike

Mike,

Very helpful!!! No leaks at all and all wires look good.

Did not think about a seal/gasket in the trans itself. Solenoids are new and no change when swap was made. I think you’re onto something. This would make sense (in my non-professional opinion) as under heavy acceleration there’s no problem locking up...enough pressure maybe?

I’m not opposed to a seal sweller if it’ll get me some more life out of transmission. I’m not wanting to throw good money after bad if I need a new trans anyway. Delaying the repair a month or two would definitely help the budget.

In your opinion is an additive worth a shot to try to seal any pressure loss? If yes, any recommendations?
 
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Pfunk951

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In my experience, you spin the wheel of fate with additives made to "quiet", "fix", or "remedy" something. Sometimes you can run another 60k miles, sometimes you can chew up a pump or clog something in 5 minutes. This especially applies to radiator stop-leak, but that's another story..

You had luck with the dr.tranny, and that kind of scares me because it's a friction modifier- as in "make the Torque Converter Clutch grab better", insinuating that a)the clutch is worn, or b)not getting enough pressure from the pump..

Mike
 

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